


remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes

by baekcheeks



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst with a Happy Ending, ChanKaiSoo - Freeform, I don't know, M/M, Minor Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Vampire Baekhyun, XiuChen - Freeform, there's a tiny tiny tiny baekxing moment, there's blood mention bc vampires, um those are the side ships mostly xiuchen tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-31 01:49:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12121920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baekcheeks/pseuds/baekcheeks
Summary: All Baekhyun remembers is a single sound, the sound of home.





	remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes

**Author's Note:**

> this is a mess but i really wanted to write vampire baekhyun and sebaek is THE ship for that imo. thanks to flor for being the best beta and the best everything out there i love her to dead. also, this is supposed to have a part 2 maybe we'll see so if some things seem to be sort of left aside is bc of that. the vamp rules might not be too clear??? i don't know i'm sorry, i'm a mess. okay, that's it, enjoy.

The last thing Baekhyun remembers is bright light, the rain and a screeching sound. Actually, those are his only memories, except for that laugh constantly ringing in his ears, like a song playing on repeat. It must be the laugh of an angel.

  
  


***

  
  


Baekhyun wakes up in a small room, the curtains are drawn but some sunlight makes its way to him. He rubs his eyes. His head feels heavy, his body sore as if a truck has run him over. He looks around the room, maybe if he could remember something he’d know where he is. But he doesn’t, and that laugh is not a place, although it feels like home to him somehow. Weird.

 

He gets up from the bed where he was lying. The sheets are a soft shade of pink--they don’t match with the very blue curtains and the white walls, but they’re cute nevertheless. There’s a closet and a bedside table and no other pieces of furniture. Baekhyun walks towards the closet and he’s about to open it when he hears the door behind him creaking. He spins around so fast he gets a bit dizzy. 

 

“Woah there, take it easy,” a boy with dark hair and shorter than Baekhyun (who’s already quite small) says, walking inside the room. “How are you feeling?”

 

Baekhyun is confused. He doesn’t know who this boy is. And why is he being so kind and motherly? How did he get here? Where was he before? What is going on? 

 

“Confused,” he replies finally. Maybe the boy has some answers.

 

“Of course, that’s normal.” The dark haired boy nods as he walks towards Baekhyun, who backs away a little. “Don’t be scared, Baekhyun, it’ll be fine.”

 

“How do you know my name?” He’s terrified and his voice betrays him by sounding way higher in pitch than it should.

 

“Your ID.” The small boy shrugs and honestly, why is he acting so naturally? Has Baekhyun been kidnapped? Is this some kind of sick prank? Does he have friends who’d do this? “Stop thinking so much, you’ll get dizzy. The change is not usually very kind on our stomachs.” The boy pats his tummy as he speaks and gives Baekhyun a soft smile.

 

“The what?” Baekhyun asks as the boy walks closer to him. He’s no longer scared -- it seems silly to be scared of a boy who looks so soft and hot, and how does he do that? Why is he thinking about that?

 

“You need some food first,” the stranger says and Baekhyun realizes he is, in fact, starving. “Also, I should introduce myself, I’m Kim Minseok.”

 

“Nice to meet you, I guess,” Baekhyun tells him and he’s going to introduce himself but stops when he realizes this boy, Minseok, already knows who he is.

 

Minseok hands him a plastic cup with a straw on it, and Baekhyun can’t see what it is that he’s giving him, but he’s so hungry he doesn’t mind. 

 

“Is this a strawberry smoothie?” he asks once he’s done drinking half of it. Minseok laughs, and it’s a warm laugh, one that makes him feel safe. But it’s not like that other laugh, the one that seems to be stuck in his head -- the one that makes him feel at home.

 

“It can be.” Baekhyun thinks Minseok enjoys being cryptic and confusing him, and is about to complain when his teeth start hurting.

 

“How much sugar is in this?” Baekhyun whines indignantly because he likes sugar but not rotting teeth. Minseok laughs. Again. And Baekhyun feels like he’s being mocked.

 

“None. The teeth thing is normal, it’s a vampire thing.” Baekhyun thinks he’s probably heard wrong because if not, then this Minseok boy is as high as a kite. Maybe he could share some of it because they seem to be good drugs.

 

“How high are you?” He raises an eyebrow and absentmindedly keeps drinking what he chooses to believe is a strawberry smoothie. 

 

“Sadly, not high at all,” Minseok sighs as if he were wishing to go roll himself one right now. “I know it sounds crazy, but you’re a vampire now.”

 

Baekhyun can’t help but start laughing. He laughs with his whole body because honestly what kind of bullshit is this? He’s spazzing so much he drops his cup and he wishes it had been empty because what he sees is… disgusting. 

 

“Is that…?” He stops, too afraid to finish that question.

 

“It’s blood, yeah,” Minseok tells him, going to the door and opening it before shouting: “Can someone bring me something to clean up?!”

 

Baekhyun sits on the bed, staring at the dark red stain on the floor. He takes his hand to his mouth and feels his teeth are now sharper, pointier.  _ Holy shit _ .

  
  


***

  
  


Baekhyun’s always been a fast learner and this is no different. He learns blood tastes like you want it to taste; he learns sunlight doesn’t do him any harm but doesn’t like garlic (even though it’s not  _ bad  _ for him); he learns he can still see his reflection in the mirror (thank God) and to control himself before biting someone. 

He also meets his new housemates. They are all very nice and none of them look like crazy scary vampires, except maybe that Kyungsoo kid when he’s not smiling, at least. He settles into a certain pace, and Minseok helps him get a job at the bar where he works. He says night jobs are usually better since vampires tend to prefer the moon to the sun, but Baekhyun still loves the sun and is very eager to give Minseok all the reasons why it is the best star out there. Minseok listens to his rants and smiles and makes silly comments every now and then, and Baekhyun likes Minseok. 

 

Everything is working out. He works, he hangs out with his new friends. It’s fine. Except he constantly feels like something’s missing. He keeps hearing that laughter in his head, that laughter that tells him he’s not truly home.

 

“Can I ask you something?” he tells Minseok on one of their walks home together. Minseok nods and hums, probably expecting some ridiculous and nonsensical question of the sort he’s grown accustomed coming from Baekhyun.

 

“Do you remember anything? From when you were human, I mean.” Baekhyun’s voice is soft, a far cry from his usual loud and booming tone, maybe that’s why Minseok looks not only surprised by the question but also a little bit worried.

 

“Not really,” he answers and waits politely for Baekhyun to say something.

 

“I do, I think?” the younger boy finally says. Minseok frowns, and Baekhyun can see the million questions forming in his mind and, before his hyung can say anything, he adds: “It’s just a sound, someone laughing.”

 

“I see. Do you know whose laugh it is?” Baekhyun can tell Minseok is trying not to pry and he appreciates it.

 

“I have no idea, but it haunts me.” He’s desolate by this. He wants nothing more than to know who the heavenly laugh belongs to and to know  _ why _ he remembers it. “Is it normal for us to remember things from our human lives?” 

 

“Not really. You’ve got to have a very strong connection to that memory,” Minseok explains, grabbing Baekhyun by the arm to keep him from walking any further. They are really close to the house and Baekhyun appreciates this conversation being kept private. “You must’ve really loved that person.”

 

Baekhyun looks at his friend’s back as he starts walking again. He feels kind of dumb, not having thought about it that way before, but now he knows. He must find him.

  
  


***

  
  


Baekhyun throws himself on top of Minseok’s sleeping body. Minseok groans and turns, pulling his blankets to cover his face. “Go away,” he mumbles.

 

“You promised you’d help!” Baekhyun exclaims, offended as he pulls the blankets away from Minseok’s face.

 

“It’s early, I don’t like you.” Minseok pouts and Baekhyun kisses his nose.

 

“You do like me. And I brought you breakfast,” Baekhyun says handing him his Captain America mug and rolling around so he can lay beside him instead of on top of him.

 

“Okay, maybe I do,” Minseok mumbles grumpily as he drinks up. It tastes just like cappuccino, his favorite.

 

“Can you believe today I might meet the love of my life again?” Baekhyun says, sighing dreamily. Minseok doesn’t have the heart to talk to him about immortal vampires being in love with very fragile, very mortal humans. He’s been thinking about it for a while and he thinks there’s little chance of them finding the person Baekhyun is looking for, and so Minseok convinces himself that the talk can wait, until Baekhyun meets someone else, someone he  _ just _ likes.

 

“It’s very exciting,” Minseok tells him although his tone doesn’t accompany the sentiment behind the words, so he yawns to pretend it’s only because he’s tired. “The things I do for you,” he adds with a sigh. Baekhyun gets up and sticks his tongue out to him. 

 

Ten minutes later they’re walking around town. Minseok wearing sunglasses squinting at the bright sun, Baekhyun spinning around like an overactive child. 

 

“You’re too cute for your own sake,” Minseok comments with a soft smile on his face. 

 

“You’re cute, too, when you try to act all tough.” Truth is, Minseok is mostly a softie and everyone knows it. It’s just that sometimes he likes to pretend he’s one of those ‘I hate the sun and early mornings and pretty flowers’ sort of people. 

 

“It’s called an aesthetic,” Minseok calls out to Baekhyun, who’s already a bit too far away for him to speak at a normal volume. 

 

“Okay, _ aesthetic _ , I’ll race you to the flower shop right there!” Baekhyun shouts, stopping in his tracks to wait for minseok so that it’s fair. The older boy stands beside him and shakes his head, pretending to be embarrassed by the other boy’s suggestion, and then he starts sprinting. “That’s cheating!” He hears Baekhyun call out to him from behind. 

 

Minseok is almost there and he turns his head around to confirm his win and maybe stick his tongue out to Baekhyun as revenge. It’s such a shame that he chooses the same moment the boy from the flower shop decides to exit the store with a gigantic bouquet of roses. The crash is loud and painful but mostly embarrassing, and he can hear Baekhyun’s laughter ringing in his ears as he approaches the flower shop. Baekhyun will never let this go, Minseok will be teased quite literally for the rest of eternity. However, there are more important things at hand, like helping the  _ very cute _ flower shop boy out and apologizing.

 

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking,” Minseok tells him as he gets up and offers a hand to the boy on the floor. It is then when the boy looks up and smiles at him and it’s one of those smiles: disarming, as bright as the sun and every other star and, wow, Minseok thinks he’s the most beautiful boy he’s ever seen.

 

“Oh no, it’s my fault and Mrs. Lee’s for ordering this gigantic bouquet,” he says, accepting Minseok’s helping hand and getting up. Minseok is pretty sure he’s never washing that hand again. Baekhyun has stopped laughing out loud at least, and is now standing right next to the both of them, staring curiously at the flower shop boy.

 

“Can you laugh?” Baekhyun asks, in a quite serious manner, as if he were handling  a business transaction. The flower boy seems very confused, and Minseok wants to nudge Baekhyun so he’ll stop acting like a weirdo.

 

“He’s looking for someone,” Minseok explains.

 

“Oh, I’m Kim Jongdae,” the boy replies, as if that settles the issue. Baekhyun frowns and Minseok think he’s going to have to have a word with him about his manners.

 

“Byun Baekhyun. But I  _ really _ need you to laugh,” he insists, and Jongdae looks so dazed like he truly doesn’t know what to do now. Clearly he’s too kind to just tell him to go away.

 

“I don’t know if I can laugh on demand,” he says hesitantly.

 

“That’s okay, I’ll do something funny.” Baekhyun affirms, still as serious as Minseok has ever seen him. Minseok mouths an  _ ‘ _ I’m sorry’ to Jongdae before Baekhyun can do something embarrassing. He ends up doing a weird flexible thing with his fingers and Jongdae actually laughs at that, and Minseok does too. Baekhyun looks so pleased by it that Minseok is glad he didn’t stop him from acting like a weirdo.

 

“Thanks for laughing,” Baekhyun says to Jongdae and then “It’s not him” to Minseok, and the latter can’t help but thank his lucky stars. “It was nice to meet you, though,” Baekhyun adds towards Jongdae before he starts walking again.

 

Minseok lingers for a second before moving again. “Bye, sorry about all of this,” he smiles at Jongdae and starts walking.

 

“Wait!” Jongdae shouts from where he stands, in front of the shop. “You didn’t tell me your name!”

 

“Kim Minseok!” he shouts and he’s pretty sure Jongdae can even hear how wide he’s smiling. 

  
  


***

 

Baekhyun is doing his best to focus on the task currently at hand, but cleaning the bar isn’t exactly something that requires too much thought, and so his mind tends to wander. He and Minseok had walked around town for hours and they hadn’t been able to find the owner of the laugh and possibly Baekhyun’s heart.

 

“It’s such a pity,” Baekhyun says with a dramatic sigh, dropping the cloth he was using to wipe the bar in front of Minseok, who rolls his eyes.

 

“What is?” the older vampire asks and Baekhyun can even hear him rolling his eyes again. 

 

“That cute flower boy isn’t the one,” he explains. “He had such a nice butt, too.” Baekhyun sighs again, dreamily this time, thinking about the boy’s perfectly shaped butt. If that’s not the behind of an angel then he doesn’t know what is.

 

“I guess he did,” Minseok comments, avoiding Baekhyun’s gaze and grabbing a glass to clean.

 

“You guess? Please, it was glorious, if I wasn’t looking for the love of my life, I would’ve dated him.” 

 

“What makes you think he would’ve wanted to date  _ you _ ?” Baekhyun frowns. He cannot believe the disrespect, and why isn’t Minseok looking at him in the eye? And why does he keep cleaning that pristine-clean looking glass?

 

“Oh. I see.” Baekhyun nods, understanding drawing on him. “You like him! You like flower boy!”

 

Minseok nearly drops the glass and Baekhyun can’t help but laugh at him, making the older boy glare at him so hard he thinks he might get laser vision and how cool would that be? A vampire with laser vision? So cool.

 

“I don’t  _ like _ flower boy, I just think he’s cute,” Minseok says, going back to cleaning the very clean glass and avoiding Baekhyun’s gaze.

 

“Sure.” Baekhyun keeps on nodding, a huge smirk on his face. 

 

“Stop it.” Minseok finally leaves the glass on the counter and glares at Baekhyun before sighing and softening his expression. “And even if I did, I don’t date humans.”

 

This catches Baekhyun’s attention, who looks up with a frown on his face and attentive eyes. “Wait, what? Why?”

 

Minseok shrugs, grabbing a different glass to clean. “I just don’t, it gets too messy.”

 

“Why?” Baekhyun is curious and maybe, possibly, a little bit anxious.

 

“It just does, at least in my experience.” Minseok isn’t giving Baekhyun all the answers he is now looking for and it’s not helping the dread he suddenly feels at all.

 

“So you’ve dated humans?” he asks, trying to get at least something out of his friend.

 

“Yeah, it’s usually great for a while, then it gets complicated.” Minseok keeps cleaning the glass until it’s perfectly clean, then grabs another one.

 

“So, you just date other vampires?” Baekhyun’s not sure how he feels about this. He’s almost certain the boy he’s looking for is human so maybe he shouldn’t keep looking for him?

 

“Um, mostly. Though I did date a boy who could turn into a cat. He had to move away, that was a pity.” Minseok’s expression softens slightly as he speaks and Baekhyun can read sadness in his eyes. He can tell this boy meant a lot to Minseok and he wonders how many relationships his friend has gone through, how many times his heart has been broken. Right now he’s not sure he wants to know, but he does feel a strong urge to hug him.

 

“Do you think...” Baekhyun starts, hesitantly, “that the boy I’m looking for is human?” 

 

Realization draws on Minseok’s face and he almost drops the glass, again. “Shit,” he mutters. Baekhyun frowns, worried. “I didn’t mean  _ you  _ shouldn’t date humans,” he says, quickly.

 

“But it’s messy, you just said that.” Baekhyun’s voice is soft, calm, sad, not at all like his usual loudness.

 

“For  _ me _ and not always, I didn’t mean to generalize. Baekhyun, if you remember this boy then he’s important and it doesn’t matter if he’s a human, a cat or a plant. You should go for it.” 

 

Baekhyun sits still for a moment, a rare occurrence. Minseok stares at him, worry written all over his face. Baekhyun closes his eyes and he hears it again, that laugh. He thinks this whole situation is already quite messy and he can’t just let it go without getting some answers first.

 

“Do you think plants laugh?” Baekhyun asks, seriously and then starts giggling uncontrollably. 

 

Minseok follows his lead and laughs. “Anything’s possible.”

  
  


***

  
  


Minseok likes going on walks. He likes to go out and walk and see the sunset before having to go to work and he likes to go alone, have some quiet time. Living in such a crowded house sometimes makes it a little difficult for him to have that. He knows Kyungsoo usually runs away to go to the cinema alone, and that Baekhyun and Chanyeol rather enjoy not being alone. He likes his walks.

 

Is not like he always does the same route. Minseok does change it and the fact that he just happened to start walking around the same place he and Baekhyun were walking the other day means nothing. It also means nothing that he feels butterflies in his tummy once he realizes he’s one block away from the flower shop. 

 

Minseok sees the boy when he passes by the door and damn Baekhyun for talking about his butt so much because now he can’t stop himself from staring at it for a good minute. He hesitates. It’s not a good idea for him to walk in and he’s about to leave when Jongdae turns and sees him, the biggest smile forming on his lips, and Minseok thinks that’s it, he’s fucked. He waves at him and smiles softly before walking in the store.

 

“Hey. Minseok, right?” Jongdae asks, walking to him with a daisy in his hand.

 

“You remembered,” Minseok says, almost in a trance. This boy is going to be the death of him. “I mean, yes.”

 

Jongdae chuckles and Minseok thinks he gets why Baekhyun is so obsessed with someone’s laugh. “I have good memory.” The flower boy says never losing his smile.

 

“Me too, Jongdae.” Minseok makes it a point to say his name and that makes the other boy laugh which honestly, it’s exactly what the vampire wanted.

 

“What brings you around, buying flowers for a loved one?” Jongdae asks, wiggling the daisy in front of Minseok’s face.

 

“No,” Minseok replies and realizes a second too late he might’ve sounded rude. “I was walking by and saw you and wanted to say hi,” he quickly adds.

 

“Aw, that’s sweet.” Jongdae smiles and Minseok thinks maybe he’s wrong about the time because the sun is very obviously out and shining bright right in front of him.

 

“Yeah, so um, hi, I guess.” He’s pretty sure he’s never been this awkward in his whole life, although maybe he has, he doesn’t remember, he’s been alive for a while.

 

It doesn’t matter, though, because Jongdae keeps laughing. “Hello,” and talking to him and smiling. “Would you like a cup of coffee? Since you’re here.”

 

Minseok thinks he’s getting into dangerous territory. He meant it when he told Baekhyun dating humans is messy. But this human... this human makes him feel like it’s maybe worth a try.

 

“Yes.”

  
  


***

 

“I have a theory,” Baekhyun declares as he sits down at the dinner table where Kyungsoo and Minseok were talking just a second ago. The former just rolls his eyes while the latter gestures for Baekhyun to expand. “I need to let fate do the work instead of trying to force it.”

 

Minseok frowns. “What do you mean fate?” he asks, while Kyungsoo gets up mumbles something about meeting Chanyeol and Jongin and leaves.

 

“I’m talking about the boy,” Baekhyun explains.

 

“I had gathered that much. What I don’t understand is what you mean by letting fate do the work.” Minseok says taking a sip of his drink, lately it always tastes like coffee, no matter the time.

 

“I mean, I should stop looking for him, he  _ has  _ to show up if we’re meant to be, right?” Baekhyun’s eyes widen with expectation as he waits for Minseok to agree with him.

 

“I guess.” The older boy shrugs and then realizes something. “Does this mean our search parties are over?” 

 

Baekhyun smiles softly at Minseok and gets up from his seat in front of him. He sits down next to his friend and pats his head. “Don’t worry, we’ll find another fun activity to do together, maybe I can join you on those walks you like so much!” Baekhyun face lights up with the idea but Minseok shakes his head fervently.

 

“No, no, no, those are my alone time, I’m sorry.” Baekhyun’s face falls and Minseok adds “We’ll think of something, though, you won’t get rid of me.”

 

Baekhyun’s smile finds his way back to his face. “I would never want to get rid of you,” he claims, nuzzling his nose into Minseok’s neck while the older boy throws an arm around him. 

  
  


***

 

It’s a slow night at the bar and Baekhyun’s bored. Minseok keeps texting someone and ignoring him and it seems that cute boys have decided to go somewhere else tonight because he can’t seem to find someone to flirt the boredom away. 

 

Or so he thought. 

 

The moment he’s about to go and try to find some actual work to do none other than cute flower boy walks in, followed by a very tall and breathtakingly beautiful guy. It’s such a good thing he’s decided to enjoy life while fate does the work and leads his soulmate back to him, because it would’ve been a pity to let this one boy go. 

 

“Did you see who just walked in?” Baekhyun asks Minseok who’s left his phone aside for a minute. 

 

“I saw,” Minseok nods without looking at Baekhyun, he’s too busy staring at flower boy.

 

“It must be our lucky night, uh?” Baekhyun elbows him softly on the side and smiles, looking at the other boy. They haven’t walked to the bar, nor looked their way just yet.

 

“I sort of invited Jongdae, though.” Minseok confesses and Baekhyun stops his staring to turn to his very secretive friend. 

 

“Flower boy? How? When?  _ How _ ?” Baekhyun is baffled, he doesn’t remember Minseok mentioning Jongdae after that one conversation and now he just casually invited him to the bar?

 

“He asked for bar recommendations and I just told him to come here?” Minseok shrugs, but Baekhyun can see he’s very nervous right now and even though he wants to keep asking questions, he decides for once he can wait if that means helping his friend out.

 

“Okay, so do you know his friend?” Baekhyun asks because honestly, the least Minseok can do is hook him up with his flower boy’s friend. 

 

“No idea. He said he was coming with a kid who started working on the shop like yesterday to break the ice, but he also mentioned his boss was coming, so it could be either.” Baekhyun hums and takes a peek at them. They seem to be discussing where to sit or something equally as silly. The boy doesn’t look too young but he doesn’t look like he could be someone’s boss. Besides, he does look slightly uncomfortable, so it would make sense if he didn’t know Jongdae all that much.

 

Baekhyun’s about to tell Minseok to call them over or to do it himself when he hears it. This time is not in his head. It is a very real, very loud, very clear sound: the laugh. It seems to him that the room is filled with that sound. And even with loud music he hears it as if he was right next to him. The boy is laughing and Baekhyun sees him and it all comes back to him.

 

Sehun. 

 

He remembers him so clearly now. Sehun laughing when they first met. Laughing as Baekhyun tried to get into his pants. Laughing when he “forgot” his toothbrush at his place. Laughing as they kissed. 

 

Baekhyun also remembers the fight. A big one. Sehun yelling. Baekhyun crying, then storming out. He remembers the rain. He remembers alcohol. He remembers that bright light.

 

“I need to go,” Baekhyun mumbles and before Minseok can get a word in, he’s rushing out through the back door. He stands alone on the alley, breathing fast, his heart beating even faster. He didn’t expect it to be this way. He didn’t expect to remember it all, to remember the fight and how he…

 

No.

 

He’s not ready to face him. He loves him, that much he knows. Much like his memories of Sehun, all the feelings for him have resurfaced as well. He loves him and wants him back, but he’s afraid. The fight had been so bad and he had run off. He hadn’t come back, not because he didn’t want to, he couldn’t, he didn’t know. But how could he explain that to Sehun?

 

It takes a minute for Minseok to go looking for him. When Baekhyun sees him he holds on tight to him and starts crying. Minseok holds him until Kyungsoo shows up to take him home.

  
  


***

  
  


It’s late and Baekhyun can’t sleep. Kyungsoo drove him home without asking any questions and he appreciated it. He wanted to ask him to stay with him but he was afraid he’d start talking and he doesn’t think he’s ready to tell someone about it. He’s not ready to voice his worries.

 

There’s one thing he’s sure of: he loves Sehun, he needs him, he misses him. They’ve always been together and now that he truly, completely remembers him, he realizes how much he’s been missing him. 

 

Baekhyun also knows it’s not going to be easy. He doesn’t know what to do. Does he tell him about his turning? Does he explain about not remembering him? He remembers every silly, little detail about the fight and he knows he was in the wrong and not Sehun; he knows he would’ve apologized but he didn’t get to do that. Now it looks like he ran away from him. He hates the idea that maybe Sehun hates him right now. He hears a soft knock on the door and Minseok opens it before Baekhyun can ask who’s on the other side.

 

“Do you want to talk?” he asks, his voice soft, not entering the room. Baekhyun appreciates how much he’s respecting his space. He realizes how much he cares about him.

 

“I don’t know,” Baekhyun replies, his voice barely audible under the sheets.

 

“I can just stay with you, no talking necessary,” Minseok offers and Baekhyun nods, holding out his hand to his friend, who closes the door behind him as he enters the room and takes Baekhyun’s hand, climbing into bed and holding him. Baekhyun starts tearing up again as Minseok rubs his back. After a few minutes that feel like hours, Baekhyun falls asleep.

  
  


***

  
  


Two weeks go by before Baekhyun can talk to Minseok about Sehun. He finds the older boy in the garden, watering the plants.

 

“Did Jongdae give you those?” Baekhyun asks, sitting on the bench and looking at Minseok as he carefully tends to some daisies.

 

“He did,” Minseok replies. He finishes watering the plants and leaves the watering can aside. He sits next to Baekhyun.

 

“I found him,” the younger boy says softly, not looking at his friend.

 

“I figured that much,” Minseok comments simply, not asking any questions, not pushing Baekhyun into telling him anything.

 

“I remembered him, I remember everything about him now,” Baekhyun adds and Minseok nods. “Is that normal?”

 

Minseok smiles at him, he looks so soft and Baekhyun wants to climb into his lap and let him wraps his arms around him and tell him everything’s going to be okay. Minseok is smaller than him but right now, Baekhyun feels so tiny, so scared. “Nothing about what you have with this boy is very normal, Baekhyunnie.”

 

“We had a fight, before I turned. We had a fight and I never went back to him, he must hate me.” Baekhyun wants to cry again, he wants Minseok to help him, he wants to fix this, he wants Sehun.

 

“Do you think he could hate you?” Minseok asks and Baekhyun had never thought of him truly as his elder, he looks so young, acts like he should be treated as a baby so much, but right now, Minseok looks so wise to him.

 

“No,” Baekhyun replies softly. “I’m scared,” he adds and scoots closer to Minseok so that he can rest his head on the older boy’s shoulder.

 

“Try talking to him? He might surprise you.” Minseok throws his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders.

 

“Should I tell him about me being a vampire?” Baekhyun is also afraid of this, afraid of what Minseok would say about him sharing this with someone else.

 

“You should do what feels right,” Minseok says simply.

 

Baekhyun has a lot to think about.

  
  


***

 

It’s five in the afternoon and Baekhyun hasn’t stopped pacing for a whole hour now. He keeps getting up and walking towards the door, then coming back to sit down on the couch, then getting up again and so on. Kyungsoo’s been staring at him from where he’s sitting, the book he had been reading long forgotten.

 

“Are you okay?” Kyungsoo asks, once Baekhyun throws himself on the couch again.

 

“Me? Yes, perfectly fine, thanks for asking,” Baekhyun replies, a forced smile on his lips, which is a rare occurrence to say the least.

 

“You don’t look fine,” the dark haired boy deadpans, looking as serious as ever.

 

“Well, I am.” Baekhyun is defensive and he blames it all on how scared he is right now. It’s not his fault Minseok keeps texting him, telling him Sehun leaves the flower shop at six and that he should drop by before that, just in case. He needs to focus on something else. “Shouldn’t you be with your boyfriends?”

 

“They are working,” Kyungsoo replies, Baekhyun is a bit envious about how calm his friend is. And about his relationship, it’s so nice to see Kyungsoo work so well with both Chanyeol and Jongin, it’s almost unreal how perfect the three of them are together. 

 

“Ah, okay.” Baekhyun checks the time. Five minutes past five. He should really go if he’s going to do this. 

 

“Baekhyun, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk but, are you sure you’re okay?” Kyungsoo asks and Baekhyun is touched he cares so much about him and feels bad for making him worry.

 

“I am. I just, I have to do this thing and I’m scared so I can’t bring myself to do it,” Baekhyun offers as a sort of explanation, though he knows it’s cryptic at best. He’s not ready to tell someone else about Sehun, but he can be a bit mysterious about it, Kyungsoo won’t mind.

 

“You should just do it, like ripping off a band-aid, you’ll feel better after you do it.” Kyungsoo shrugs, as if he hadn’t just said the wisest thing Baekhyun has ever heard. 

 

“You are the smartest person I know,” Baekhyun tells him before getting up again, this time with enough resolve to actually leave. “Thank you,” he adds before opening the front door and stepping outside. 

  
  


***

  
  


It gets increasingly harder for Baekhyun to keep his resolve with every step he takes. As he gets closer to the flower shop all his doubts start to haunt him again and honestly what does Kyungsoo even know? Why did he listen to him? He knows nothing about making life changing decisions,  _ nothing _ . 

 

However, Baekhyun also thinks he cannot back out now, he’s texted Minseok telling him he’s on his way and he doesn’t want him to be disappointed in him. He’s almost there anyway. He’s almost there, and his heart is beating so fast he thinks it’s going to leap out of his chest. Regardless of what happens he’ll get to see Sehun again, he’ll get to see him up close again, he’ll get to hear his voice again. And he’s thrilled  _ and _ terrified.

 

Baekhyun sees Jongdae standing behind the counter, Minseok sitting on a stool next to him with a mug on his hands. He waves at them from the outside before taking a deep breath and coming in. He doesn’t see Sehun, and part of him hopes he’s too late. He’s about to ask Minseok about him and then he sees him. Baekhyun has always loved Sehun’s back, he’s always loved his broad shoulders. 

 

Sehun’s arranging some flowers in the back of the shop and Baekhyun can see him clearly as he works, his hands moving with such precision. Baekhyun can’t help but remember how those hands felt on his body. 

 

It takes a second for the spell to break. Sehun’s holding a vase when he turns and sees Baekhyun. He drops the vase. Jongdae and Minseok turning upon hearing the glass break. Baekhyun’s frozen in his spot, watching as Jongdae goes to help Sehun, who’s already picking up the broken pieces. 

 

“Sehun, you’re bleeding.” Baekhyun can hear Jongdae’s words so clearly, he can also smell the blood and sense Minseok’s eyes on him. He hasn’t been around bleeding people as a vampire yet.

 

Baekhyun moves fast. He can feel Minseok following his every move, ready to intervene if he must, but he won’t have to. Jongdae sees him walk in the back room and gets up, mumbling something about getting a band-aid. Baekhyun kneels next to Sehun.

 

“What are you doing here?” Sehun asks him. He doesn’t sound angry but hurt, and Baekhyun knows it’s not because of the wound in his hand.

 

“I came to see you,” Baekhyun replies, taking Sehun’s hand on his own. The younger boy doesn’t recoil and Baekhyun takes it as a good sign. He must not hate him that much.

 

“How did you even know I was here?” The pain can still be heard in Sehun’s tone. Baekhyun hates that he’s the one who did that, he wants to make it go away as soon as possible.

 

“Minseok told me.” Baekhyun gestures with his head to where Minseok was sitting moments ago. 

 

“You know Minseok?” Sehun looks surprised and confused and hurt, always hurt, and all of the sudden he seems to realize Baekhyun’s still holding his hand. He recoils quickly, whimpering with pain as he does. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter, I’m just… gonna go.”

 

Sehun stands up and Baekhyun mirrors him. “Don’t, Sehun, wait!” He tries to grab his arm to stop him but Sehun shakes him off easily and keeps walking towards the exit.

 

Jongdae comes out from who knows where and stops Sehun before he can make his way out. “You can’t go, you need to clean that and put a band-aid!” Jongdae points at Sehun’s still bleeding hand. The younger boy looks at it and then at Baekhyun.

 

“I can’t stay here,” Sehun mumbles and Baekhyun can barely hear him, but he knows exactly what he meant, Sehun couldn’t stay while  _ he _ was there too and it feels like he’s the one bleeding.

 

“It’s okay, I’ll leave,” Baekhyun says before anyone can add anything else and, taking one last look at Sehun, he exits the flower shop.

 

He feels cheated. It was not like ripping off a band-aid. It felt like being shattered in a thousand pieces just like the vase.

  
  


***

 

Baekhyun is laying in bed, idly staring at the ceiling. It’s white and dull and boring and not helping ease his mind at all. All he can do is replay the scene at the flower shop in his head: Sehun looking at him in the eye, clearly hurt; Sehun not wanting to talk to him; Sehun not wanting to touch him; Sehun not wanting him anymore.

Someone knocks on the door, and Baekhyun knows it’s Minseok. He thinks for a second. Should he talk about this? He doesn’t want to talk about Sehun, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to talk. Maybe talking about anything but that would make him feel better, talking to Minseok always makes him feel better.

 

“Come in!” he shouts and Minseok opens the door slowly, a frown on his face.

 

“Are you okay? You sound... cheerful?” Minseok sounds worried and Baekhyun most definitely does not like that.

 

“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.” Baekhyun smiles as wide as he possibly can and tries to push the image of Sehun to the back of his head. He can be cheerful; he can pretend he’s happy. Fake it till you make it, they say.

 

“I just thought you’d be…”

 

“Sad?” Baekhyun finishes for Minseok and, when the latter nods, he adds “nope” popping the ‘p’ loudly and shaking his head.

 

“So, you’re okay? And you don’t want to talk or cry or something like that?” Minseok keeps looking carefully at Baekhyun as if he’s lost his mind. “Because that would be okay, you know? That would be understandable.” 

 

“I’m okay, but I do wanna talk,” the younger boy says, patting the spot next to him for Minseok to sit there. 

 

“That’s good. What do you want to talk about?” Minseok sighs and sits on the bed, next to Baekhyun.

 

“What’s up with you and Jongdae?” Baekhyun asks, and if Minseok had looked at him as if he had lost his mind before, now he looks as if he’s ready to take him to a mental institution. 

 

“You want to talk about me and Jongdae?” Minseok speaks very slowly, as if trying to process the information himself.

 

“Yes, you told me you didn’t date humans but you’ve been spending a lot of time at the flower shop.” Baekhyun refuses to think that means he’s been spending time with Sehun as well, he refuses to let his mind wander and lead him back to Sehun.

 

“We’re not dating,” Minseok states quickly, shaking his head, but his cheeks turn red almost immediately. 

 

“Oh, c’mon, you can tell me if you are!” Baekhyun shakes Minseok’s leg with his arms, prompting him to tell him more, to keep him distracted.

 

“We’re not, really. I wouldn’t lie to you.” Baekhyun looks at Minseok directly in the eyes and frowns, concentrating as if he could read his mind.

 

“Okay,” he finally says. “But there  _ is _ something going on there.”

 

“I don’t know,” Minseok says, and Baekhyun frowns again. “Maybe,” the older boy corrects himself.

 

“Please, please, just tell me about it.” Baekhyun pleads, pouting. He wants Minseok to realize he  _ needs  _ to think about something else, someone else, and luckily Minseok seems to take the hint. 

 

“I like him.” Baekhyun smiles at Minseok knowingly. “But, as I’ve told you, dating humans gets messy and I don’t want to mess this up. Jongdae is too kind, too good, I can’t… I can’t mess him up.” Minseok sounds sad, and Baekhyun’s certain he’s never seen him sad, not truly.

 

“Can’t you just give it a try?” Baekhyun suggests but the older boy just smiles at him softly and shakes his head. 

 

“How do you make something like this work? I’d have to leave him after awhile. He deserves to live a full life, find someone he can grow old with. It’d be cruel of me to date him knowing we are going nowhere.”

 

Baekhyun thinks about it for a minute. His thoughts can’t help but wander back to Sehun, he thinks maybe Minseok is right and it is for the better if Sehun just hates him. After all, they can’t be together, not forever, not as he thought they’d be before. But he does have his memories of Sehun, he might not have a forever with him but he has a thousand moments that will always stay with him.

 

“I think you should focus on the present,” Baekhyun tells Minseok, suddenly very serious. “You don’t know what might happen in the future, but at least you’ll have him now and he’ll have you, too.” 

 

Minseok is silent for a few seconds. “When did you get so wise, Baekhyunnie?” The boy asks with a big smile on his face.

 

Baekhyun thinks heartbreak must make you wise.

  
  


***

 

A week goes by and Baekhyun convinces himself this is for the better. It hurts, constantly, but he truly believes Sehun is better off without him. He can’t give him a forever and he thinks it’s better if Sehun just hates him. He prefers that to tell him that he can’t be with him, that he can’t grow old with him. Yes, it is better.

 

Regardless of this conviction, Baekhyun tries not to think about Sehun at all. He keeps himself busy at all times, helping around the house or going out bowling with Chanyeol; he asks Minseok about Jongdae, because helping him with his love life helps him feel better. He has the system perfected by now. It gets harder when he’s alone at night, trying to get some sleep, but he’s working on it. Some nights he crawls into Minseok’s bed and is very glad the older boy doesn’t ask any questions. 

 

Two weeks go by and Baekhyun thinks he’s okay. Until Minseok comes back from his afternoon coffee date with Jongdae. 

 

“We need to talk,” Minseok tells Baekhyun after barging into his room. He looks very serious and Baekhyun is a bit concerned. 

 

“What’s up?” Baekhyun asks, sitting up on his bed and patting it so that Minseok sits next to him. The older boy remains standing and doesn’t make eye contact.

 

“I saw Sehun today,” Minseok says after a few seconds being silent.

 

“Don’t you see him like everyday?” Baekhyun is really trying to sound casual, as if talking about Sehun isn’t the hardest thing for him.

 

“I don’t. He’s not in the shop much, he mostly works on deliveries.” The younger boy has a feeling Sehun has been trying to avoid Minseok, he probably doesn’t want to be around anyone or anything that reminds him of Baekhyun.

 

“Oh. I didn’t know that.” He’s trying, really trying, to sound casual and detached, but he’s not like that even about the smallest things, much less about Sehun. He can’t pretend he doesn’t care about Sehun. It feels wrong, and unnatural, and Baekhyun doesn’t want to ever  _ not  _ care about Sehun, even if just thinking about him hurts right now.

 

“He was there today and...” Minseok starts, he runs a hand through his hair and sits down on the bed. He sighs before talking again. “He asked about you.”

 

Baekhyun’s mouth forms a perfect circle. For once he’s speechless, his mind working incredibly fast. What does that mean? What does he want? Does he want to see him? Does he want to talk to him? Is he willing to forgive him?

 

When Minseok sees Baekhyun’s not responding he continues. “He wants to talk to you, apparently he feels bad for not giving you a chance to explain yourself.” Baekhyun can help the smile that creeps into his face, but Minseok doesn’t look that happy and is quick to continue. “ _ And  _ he said he had some things he wants to tell you.”

 

Baekhyun notices Minseok doesn’t look all too pleased about those things Sehun has to tell him but he can’t bring himself to care one bit. The concept of Sehun actually wanting to talk to him is enough to make him feel happier than he’d felt in a while. 

 

“What did you tell him?” Baekhyun asks, realizing maybe he gave him his phone number, should he wait for a text? Should he go meet him? 

 

“I told him he could find you at the bar.” Minseok shrugs and Baekhyun pouts.

 

“That gives me no time at all to get ready!” The younger boy complains. Sehun could show up at any given time.

 

“I thought you were moving on,” Minseok states. He looks worried, like he doesn’t believe this is a good idea. Baekhyun remembers that it may not be such a good thing. He was serious about letting Sehun live his best life, he truly was.

 

“I am. I will, but...” Baekhyun pauses, not sure how to word this. “But I’d rather move on without him hating me forever. I know that’s selfish, and probably too much to ask of him, but I think I have to try at least”

 

Minseok gives him a sad smile. Baekhyun thinks it’s okay, he doesn’t want to mess Sehun’s life, but the idea of him hating him is something he can’t stand. He’s certain that’s what been keeping him awake at night.

  
  


***

  
  


Friday nights are always the busiest. One would think Saturdays would be worse, but on Fridays the bar gets crowded with people trying to have some fun after work. Baekhyun usually likes Fridays the most. He particularly likes Fridays these days, since he’s too busy to stare at the door all the damn time. Plus, there’s Cute Friday Guy.

 

“Another one, cutie?” Baekhyun asks, leaning on the bar in front of him.

 

“Are you ever going to call me by my name?” cute boy smiles at him softly, seemingly amused by Baekhyun’s inability to call him anything but ‘cutie’.

 

“Aw, but cutie sounds far better than Yixing.” Baekhyun pouts and it makes Yixing laugh. He’s always known his best weapon is his cuteness. “Plus, it’s accurate.”

 

“I do want another, though,” Yixing says, the smile never leaving his face.

 

“Right away, cutie,” Baekhyun grins, grabbing another beer and handing it to Yixing. “I bet you look even cuter outside this bar,” he tells him, dreamily.

 

“Is that an invitation?” Yixing asks, one eyebrow raised, taking a sip of his beer.

 

Baekhyun is about to reply that yes, indeed it is, when he sees him walk in. Sehun’s with another boy and Baekhyun doesn’t know what to make of it, but he does know his stomach is feeling funny. He has no right to be jealous, after all, he’s literally flirting with some other boy at the moment; Sehun can do whatever he wants, whoever he wants, he should. Still, Baekhyun can’t help but feel like his heart is being ripped apart. Again.

 

“Baekhyun, you okay?” Yixing frowns, and he looks cute even when he frowns, what sort of sorcery is that?

 

Baekhyun shakes his head. Focus, he tells himself. “Yeah, sorry, where were we?” he leans closer to Yixing, trying to avoid looking in Sehun’s direction.

 

“I think you were about to ask me out,” Yixing tells him with a smirk.

 

Baekhyun can’t help but see him even before he’s standing next to Yixing. “Sorry, am I interrupting something?” Sehun asks.

Yixing seems to think Sehun’s just another client, bothered by him keeping the bartender for himself. “No, I’m sorry, I’ll let you go back to work,” he says, before taking his beer and moving to an empty stool, far from Baekhyun.

 

“Jealous much?” Baekhyun asks, pretending not to care about the answer, trying to read Sehun to see if he was, in fact, jealous.

 

“Can you talk?” Sehun seems eager, nervous. Baekhyun wants to kiss him for some reason, probably because he hasn’t done it in what feels like forever, or because Sehun’s looking particularly handsome tonight, or most likely because he always wants to kiss Sehun.

 

Baekhyun feels Minseok’s eyes on him, and it’s like a sixth sense for him by now, knowing when Minseok’s looking at him, silently watching over him like a guardian angel. He turns and gestures with his head, telling him with no words he’s going out for a bit, Minseok nods. “Yeah, follow me.”

 

The older boy shows Sehun the way to the back door and they both step into the cold night. Sehun hugs himself. The alley is dark, only one street lamp barely lighting up the space.

 

They stand there, not looking at each other, in silence. Baekhyun’s about to say something when Sehun speaks. “You disappeared.” Baekhyun can hear it again, how hurt he is, how sad he sounds. He hates himself for being the one responsible for that.

 

“I’m sorry.” Baekhyun had come up with a million things to say, a million excuses, explanations, but he can’t think of anything right now.

 

“We had a fight and you ran away and didn’t come back.” Sehun keeps stating the facts as if Baekhyun doesn’t know exactly what happened, exactly how it must look to Sehun. “I thought you were dead or something, but then Kyungsoo told me you were fine and I didn’t know what to think.”

 

It takes a minute for Baekhyun to realize what Sehun’s saying. Kyungsoo? He knows Kyungsoo? Does that mean Kyungsoo knew him before? Why didn’t anyone tell him that? Why didn’t Kyungsoo mention anything?

 

“You didn’t even come back to get your stuff, it’s all there, in our... my apartment.” Baekhyun wants to reach out and hug him but he knows it’s not the time. He can’t be sure Sehun would want him to, and it breaks his heart a little. “You didn’t come back to say goodbye.”

 

“Sehun, I-” Baekhyun doesn’t know what to say, yet again.

 

“What, you’re sorry? You broke my heart, Baekhyun, you broke my heart.” Sehun’s voice cracks and Baekhyun doesn’t realize he’s moving until he’s in front of him. He cups his face with his hand and Sehun doesn’t move.

 

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” Baekhyun says softly, but staring intently at Sehun. The younger boy doesn’t move. Baekhyun moves his hand to his shoulder and then to his waist. He holds him, and Sehun’s body feels warm and familiar and just  _ right  _ against his.

 

“I’m sorry,” he says and kisses his shoulder “I’m sorry,” he kisses the crook of his neck. “I’m sorry.” He keeps kissing him with every sorry. Sehun doesn’t move away. Baekhyun keeps mumbling I’m sorrys into his skin and kissing him softly.

 

“I’m so mad at you,” Sehun finally says through gritted teeth. Baekhyun looks up and he’s going to say another sorry when Sehun kisses him hard.

 

It’s rough and it’s messy and Baekhyun can feel Sehun’s anger in the kiss. But still, he lets himself be carried away. Baekhyun kisses Sehun with longing. It’s been so long and he missed him.

 

“Shit,” Sehun mumbles and pulls away, his hand moving to his mouth, his fingers slightly red-stained after touching his lips. Baekhyun had gotten too carried away and bitten Sehun’s lower lip. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun tells him, a little out of breath. He’s glad the biting didn’t get too far, he’s still not sure about what could happen. He reluctantly takes a step back, just in case.

 

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Sehun says, speaking more to himself than to Baekhyun. “I got carried away,” he sighs and runs a hand through his hair. Baekhyun realizes it’s shorter. He likes it.

 

Sehun leans against the wall, and Baekhyun knows he should get back to work, Minseok must be having a hard time. “Can we meet somewhere else, some other time, I promise I’ll explain myself.” Baekhyun keeps his distance, he doesn’t want to push Sehun.

 

“Okay.” Sehun nods. “You can ask Minseok for my phone number.” Baekhyun thinks he looks very calm for someone who was so shaken up just minutes ago.

 

“I will,” Baekhyun assures him. He’ll probably do it in like five minutes. He looks at the door that leads back to the bar and then to Sehun.

 

“Go, I need a minute,” the younger boy tells him.

 

“Sehun,” Baekhyun starts but he’s not sure what to say.

 

“It’s okay, Baekhyun, really, just tell me the truth when we meet again.”

 

Baekhyun nods, he needs to have a conversation with Minseok. He can’t believe he has to wait until their shift ends.

  
  


***

  
  


Minseok goes home with Jongdae. Baekhyun still doesn’t know if he’s thrilled for him or a bit upset because he really needed to talk to him. Probably both. It’s not until he gets back home that he remembers one bit of the conversation with Sehun that had struck him as odd, but had been eclipsed by the kissing that happened later. Sehun had mentioned Kyungsoo as if he knew him, as if he talked to him. 

 

Surprisingly, Kyungsoo is not home yet. He usually works late on Fridays too, but Baekhyun doesn’t remember Kyungsoo coming back home later than him, ever. So he sits on the couch and waits for him, he knows he won’t be able to fall asleep so it’s better if he just gets this over with tonight.

 

Luckily for him, Baekhyun doesn’t have to do much waiting. Kyungsoo walks in ten minutes later. He looks tired, and it makes Baekhyun feel a bit bad about keeping him up even longer.

 

“Baekhyun, what are you doing up?” Kyungsoo asks when he sees him sitting there.

 

“I need to talk to you.” Going straight to the point seems like the best strategy. Kyungsoo looks puzzled but he sits next to Baekhyun and waits for him to start. “I talked to Sehun today.”

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t look fazed and somehow that bothers Baekhyun. He cannot possibly be such a good actor. “How did that go?”

 

“Well, I found out something,” Baekhyun starts, making a pause to allow Kyungsoo to jump in. “I know you know him,” he says once he realizes his friend is not going to say anything.

 

“I couldn’t tell you.” Baekhyun had expected Kyungsoo to defend himself, to be more assertive, to give him a million different excuses. Instead, he just says that.

 

“Why?” Baekhyun makes an effort not to be loud, he doesn’t want to wake Jongin and Chanyeol up, he doesn’t want to sound mad, but he’s upset and confused and wondering why he was kept in the dark for so long.

 

“I knew you, I knew Sehun. I was your friend and I knew knowing those things was not going to help you. You were going to be sad you couldn’t remember me, and I didn’t know if you were ever going to remember Sehun, so I couldn’t talk to you about him. It would’ve made you sad. I can’t see you sad, Baekhyun.”

 

Baekhyun is pretty sure he had never heard Kyungsoo utter more than six words in a single sentence, so everything he’s just said surprises him for more than one reason. He notices he’s somewhat hurting and it’s his fault again. He keeps hurting people he cares about. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun mumbles, and by now he’s lost count of how many times he’s said that tonight.

 

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Kyungsoo tells him and he sounds so certain. Baekhyun feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

 

“I wish you would’ve told me so I could’ve found him earlier and fixed this,” Baekhyun explains. He feels like vampires are missing the ability to go back in time.

 

“You just need to be honest, you’ll get through this. You’re  _ you _ .” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen two people more in love, okay?”

 

Baekhyun smiles softly. He remembers how it felt being around Sehun. He remembers exactly how he felt – he still feels that way.

 

“So, you think I should tell him about me being a vampire?” He’s been thinking about it for a while, even before tonight. He’s a bit scared of how Sehun would react, of how Sehun would feel towards him after telling him.

 

“Yes,” Kyungsoo says simply and it takes Baekhyun hitting him softly on his side for him to expand. “He’s a very open minded guy. Plus, you were already into biting before.” Baekhyun can help but start laughing very loudly and Kyungsoo has to cover his mouth with his hand as he tries to hold his own laughter down.

 

“I remember that, but I don’t remember telling you,” Baekhyun says once he’s done laughing.

 

“You’ve always been very vocal about your sex life, sometimes a bit too much.” Kyungsoo explains, shrugging.

 

“That much I can believe,” he comments and then as he locks eyes with Kyungsoo they start laughing again. 

 

It takes a sleepy Jongin showing up for them to calm down. Baekhyun mouths a thank you to Kyungsoo as the latter lets his boyfriend drag him to bed. 

 

Baekhyun doesn’t think he’ll be able to sleep but at least now, he’s more at ease.

  
  


***

  
  


Baekhyun falls asleep on the couch. He wakes up to the sun shining through the window and a blanket covering him. He checks the time, it’s almost noon. Baekhyun rubs his eyes, still sleepy. It takes him a minute to remember everything that happened last night, and when he does, he quickly gets up and goes to Minseok’s room.

 

“Minseok!” Baekhyun shouts, knocking eagerly on the door. There’s no reply. “Minseok, c’mon!” He shouts again, still knocking. No reply. Shrugging, he decides to come in. Minseok’s not there, he thought he’d be back already. 

 

Baekhyun sits on Minseok’s bed. He needs to text Sehun right away, he can’t afford to make Sehun think he’s forgotten about him again. Then it hits him – Kyungsoo. He runs all the way to his room and, without bothering to knock, he opens the door.

 

“Kyungsoo, I need your phone.” Baekhyun proclaims as he opens the door. He finds that Kyungsoo is not there but Chanyeol and Jongin are, sleeping soundly. He forgot today was Saturday. 

 

“Kitchen,” Chanyeol mumbles as he shifts, scooting closer to Jongin, and shielding his eyes from the light by burying his face in the crook of the other boy’s neck. Cute, Baekhyun thinks, before closing the door whispering a thank you and an apology. 

 

Baekhyun practically runs to the kitchen. He finds Kyungsoo sitting on the table, his glasses on, reading the newspaper. 

 

“Can you give me Sehun’s phone number?” he asks, too eager for pleasantries. 

 

“Good morning,” Kyungsoo replies but reaches for his phone that’s on his pocket. He hands it to Baekhyun, who’s quick to look for Sehun’s phone and add it to his phone’s contact list. 

 

“Thank you, you’re the best.” Baekhyun tells him and kisses him on the head before leaving the kitchen and going to the backyard.

 

The weather is nice and Baekhyun sits on the grass. He stares at his phone for a while. He knows exactly where they should meet and he knows Sehun said he wanted to hear him out, but he’s still so nervous that his fingers are shaking ever so slightly.

 

After ten minutes of writing and deleting and rewriting and deleting again he sends Sehun the text. Sehun replies with a thumbs up emoji. Great, another thing for him to overanalyze as he gets ready to meet him in just a few hours. Shit, a few hours, he needs to shower and eat and get mentally ready. Fun.

  
  


***

  
  


Baekhyun gets to the coffee shop half an hour early. He’s not usually early to places but he had gotten ready faster than he’d anticipated and Minseok wasn’t home yet and Kyungsoo had gone on a date with Jongin and Chanyeol so he was all alone, and he gets restless when he’s alone. It’s worse if he has somewhere to be later. He had tried to keep himself busy, play a game but he couldn’t stop side eyeing the clock and that meant he kept dying on the game. After a while he just gave up and decided it was okay if he was a little bit early for a change.

 

It turns out it’s worse waiting at the coffee shop. Baekhyun keeps seeing people come in and thinking they are Sehun and he’s so jumpy, he hates it. Plus the orange juice he ordered is not yummy at all and, he thinks it might have something to do with it not being his usual drink, but still he didn’t expect for orange juice to betray him like that in this time of need. He considers texting Minseok, but he’s probably with Jongdae and thus, Baekhyun will be rudely ignored and he does not want to deal with that right now. 

 

Maybe Baekhyun wouldn’t be that bored if he hadn’t deleted all the games from his phone that one night, he wouldn’t be this bored and anxious. Well, he would be anxious anyway. He’s contemplating downloading a game when he sees him. Sehun sits in front of him, a neutral expression on his face.

 

“Are you mad at your phone?” Sehun asks, raising his eyebrows. 

 

Baekhyun just then realizes he had been staring at his phone with a frown. “Maybe. It’s not very good company.”

 

“Ah, what a shame.”  Sehun smiles slightly. Good, it seems he’s actually truly willing to give him a chance.

 

“You’re here now, so it doesn’t matter.” Baekhyun shrugs and puts his phone away. 

 

They stay silent for a minute. Baekhyun is now very aware of how many people are in this place. He didn’t think it through, a crowded coffee shop it’s not the best place to tell someone you’re a fucking vampire. 

 

“Do you mind if we go for a walk?” Baekhyun asks and realizes maybe Sehun wanted something to drink. “You can order something to go, my treat,” he adds quickly.

 

“It’s fine, we can share that,” Sehun says, pointing at Baekhyun’s juice and getting up. “Let’s go.”

 

Baekhyun stands up and takes his juice. Sehun leads the way out of the coffee shop and the older boy hands him the plastic cup. They walk in silence, Sehun sipping on the juice as Baekhyun tries to find the words to tell him.

 

“So, um how’s Vivi?” Baekhyun finally asks, because, of course he wants to delay this a bit and talking about Sehun’s puppy is the best way to do it. 

 

Sehun’s smiles fondly. “I think,” he starts and Baekhyun looks at him expectantly. “Vivi misses you.” He says and Baekhyun doesn’t want to read much into it but the way Sehun is looking at him makes him want to believe that by that Sehun means  _ he _ misses him as well.

 

“The feeling is mutual,” Baekhyun tells him and really hopes they are not truly, only, talking about the puppy (though he does miss Vivi a whole lot).

 

“Why did you leave?” Sehun asks and it seems that Baekhyun can’t delay this anymore. 

 

“Well, I was upset,” he replies and Sehun frowns. Baekhyun has always appreciated Sehun’s height, the difference was perfect for him to rest his chin on his shoulder. But sometimes, he feels tiny, metaphorically and literally and he does not like that.

 

“Then why didn’t you come back?” Sehun’s not about to let him bullshit his way out of this. Baekhyun knows it, and for once he’s not planning on doing that.

 

“It’s a bit hard to explain,” he begins, just then they come around a park. Baekhyun spots a bench and he gestures Sehun to follow him, he sits down and pats the empty space beside him for Sehun to join him.

 

Sehun sits down and gestures for Baekhyun to start talking. “After our disagreement, I was upset, as I mentioned before, and I went out and got drunk... and I don’t remember that much about it but I… uh, got hit by a bus.” 

 

The younger boy’s eyes widened. “Is this a joke?”

 

“I wish it was, but it’s not, I promise.” Baekhyun tries to convey with his very serious tone just how very honest he’s being right now.

 

“So, what? Did you get amnesia or something? Couldn’t call me from the hospital?” Sehun asks, believing in Baekhyun’s words.

 

“It was something like amnesia, but also I sort of... died.” Baekhyun hears what he’s saying and cannot believe just how utterly ridiculous and out of a soap opera that sounds. He’s never had to tell this to anyone and it’s not as easy as one might think.

 

“Baekhyun, I’m sorry to disappoint you but you are very much alive,” Sehun tells him, seriously. Then he proceeds to poke him in his tummy. “See, I’m touching you, you’re breathing, you’re moving, you’re alive.”

 

Baekhyun giggles and wishes this could be it, that they could go back to what it was, just like that – a few pokes and some laughs, maybe a few kisses, too.

 

“I know it doesn’t look like it but I was dead or almost dead... I’m still not exactly sure how it all works.” Baekhyun explains once Sehun stops poking him and his giggling fit is subdued.

 

“How what works?” Sehun asks, he’s frowning and he looks so cute, like a child trying to solve a puzzle. Baekhyun has to resist the urge to just lean in and kiss him because this is a serious conversation they’re having, he cannot let himself get sidetracked by Sehun’s cute face.

 

“The turning.” Maybe at some point of this conversation, Baekhyun started appreciating the mystery of revealing himself as a vampire, just maybe.

 

“What are you even talking about right now?” Sehun sounds tired and Baekhyun knows he’s got to tell him.

 

“Sehun, I’m a-” Baekhyun takes a deep breath. “I’m a vampire.” 

 

Sehun stares at him, he barely even blinks, he barely even moves. Baekhyun has to check if he’s still breathing, his chest is moving up and down so he guesses he is.

 

“You’re a vampire? Like Kyungsoo?” Sehun asks and honestly, what the  _ fuck _ ? How does Sehun know about Kyungsoo?

 

“What do you mean like Kyungsoo?” How come Kyungsoo continues to keep stuff from him, this is getting ridiculous. 

 

“We’ve known since forever, don’t play dumb,” Sehun tells him. 

 

“That’s the thing. In my head, I met him after turning,” Baekhyun explains, and here comes the actual explanation of what happened to them. He knows what he has to say, he’s rehearsed it in his head a million times, but he still fears he’ll get tongue-tied or say the wrong thing… saying you completely forgot about someone’s existence is a bit much when you’re trying to win them back, because Baekhyun can’t kid himself any longer, he wants Sehun back.

 

“What do you mean? He’s been our friend for years.” Sehun frowns again, Baekhyun wants to kiss all his questions away but he knows it’s better to actually answer them.

 

“What happens is, when you turn you... forget about your human life.” Baekhyun’s voice is soft, he’s speaking slowly, letting each word sink in.

 

“So, you…” Sehun stops, finally understanding. “You forgot about me,” he says in a barely audible whisper. 

 

“Not entirely,” Baekhyun is quick to tell him, taking his hand on his, rubbing circles on it with his thumb. “I remembered only one thing…” he starts, Sehun looks at him expectantly. “Your laugh.” Baekhyun smiles at him softly.

 

“But you came looking for me,” Sehun states, still confused.

 

“I started looking for you without knowing who I was looking for,” Baekhyun says. It seems like that was ages ago and not just a couple of months. “I found you by chance and the moment I heard your laugh all the memories came rushing back.”

 

“But how does that work?” Sehun looks at Baekhyun as if he has all the answers and he truly wishes he did.

 

“I don’t know. Minseok says it has something to do with strong emotional connections, love.” Baekhyun tells him.

 

“Is this some sort of convoluted way to tell me you still love me? Because it wasn’t necessary, like at all.” Sehun assures him and he’s smiling. Baekhyun cannot believe this is actually happening, that he’s not running away from him or something equally as heartbreaking. 

 

“Please, I’m not  _ that _ romantic.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes and laughs. It finally feels like everything’s right and he thinks he can do it now, so he leans in. Sehun stops him before his lips can meet.

 

“Wait, I’m sorry, Baekhyun, but I don’t know if I can do this.” Sehun turns his face so that he’s not looking at Baekhyun but his hand is resting on the older boy’s chest. Baekhyun looks down at it. He can’t believe he really thought everything could be just like it was before.

 

“Okay,” Baekhyun says in a barely audible whisper. He places his hand on top of Sehun, not ready to let go just yet.

 

“I just need some time to think about what this means.” Sehun’s voice is soft and soothing and Baekhyun really doesn’t want him to leave. 

 

“I promise I’m the same. I’m still me.” Baekhyun sounds a bit desperate even if he’s trying to push it back, not to sound as if his heart is being ripped out of his chest.

 

Sehun lifts Baekhyun’s face with two fingers, making him look at his eyes. “I know, I just need to think it through, just give me some time.” Baekhyun has always felt weird whenever Sehun sounded older than him and he understands him and doesn’t want to make a scene, doesn’t want to whine or cry. So he just nods. Sehun leans in and kisses him softly. It’s short and sweet and over way too fast.

 

Baekhyun watches as Sehun walks away. He’s got time, he’s got literally all the time in the world to wait. And for Sehun, he will.

  
  


***

  
  


Baekhyun doesn’t get back home right away. He walks around aimlessly for awhile and starts to make his way back when the sun starts setting and he realizes he has to go to work later.

 

Minseok’s home when he arrives and greets him with one of his biggest, brightest smiles. Baekhyun can’t help but smile back, focusing on someone else’s feelings has worked sort of fine for him before, and he’s willing to try again, especially when it comes to Minseok.

 

“I see you’ve decided to finally come back home.” Baekhyun says and wiggles his eyebrows knowingly.

 

“Shut up,” Minseok tells him, his face getting as red as a tomato.

 

“Aw, that’s cute, I didn’t know you were shy,” Baekhyun teases Minseok and sits beside him on the couch.

 

“I’m not, I’m just tired and we have to go to work soon,” Minseok claims defensively.

 

“I bet you’re tired.” Baekhyun smirks. Minseok rolls his eyes and hits Baekhyun slightly on the side, the tiniest bit of a smile still on his face. 

 

“Where were you, anyway?” the older boy asks, clearly trying to deviate the subject.

 

“I went for a walk.” It’s easy to lie when you don’t want to think about what you did, it’s easier to pretend it didn’t happen. “Are you seriously not going to tell me about you and Jongdae?”

 

“Nope.” Minseok makes a popping noise when he says this and Baekhyun frowns at him. “What do you even want me to tell you?”

 

“Was it good?” Baekhyun asks, raising his eyebrows suggestively. 

 

Minseok glares at him, the red shade on his face never quite fading. Baekhyun looks at him right in the eye until he whispers. “Yes.”

 

“I knew it!” Baekhyun claps once and smiles widely. Talking about other people’s sex lives is the best cure for sadness. “Are you going to properly date him now or what?”

 

“I don’t know, we didn’t really talk…” Baekhyun wiggles his eyebrows. “About that.”

 

“I can’t believe you spent all day having sex with Kim cutest butt in the realm Jongdae.” Baekhyun shakes his head in disbelief.

 

“Hey!” Minseok exclaims, indignant. “We had lunch and talked, too”

 

“Wait.” Baekhyun is suddenly serious. “When you say lunch, you don’t mean you fed from him, right?”

 

Minseok shakes his head. “No, I haven’t told him yet, we had food and I always have some extra blood with me just in case.”

 

“Oh, alright.” Baekhyun nods once. Maybe that’s what Sehun’s worried about. Maybe he thought Baekhyun wanted to feed from him. Maybe he needs to stop thinking about this.

 

“Are you okay?” Minseok asks, concern written on his face.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Baekhyun dismisses Minseok’s worries with a hand gesture. “Now, what about the dirty details? I wanna know everything.”

 

Minseok gets up and starts walking away from Baekhyun. “See you at work.”

 

Baekhyun throws him a flying kiss and then rearranges himself on the couch, grabbing a pillow to hug. Maybe if he keeps thinking of ways to harass Minseok with questions he won’t have to think about Sehun walking away.

  
  


***

 

“I’m bored,” Baekhyun claims, laying on top of the bar and pouting at Minseok.

 

“You’re always bored on Wednesdays,” Minseok says, sounding bored himself, without looking at him as he cleans. The bar won’t open for another hour and Baekhyun is pretty sure they’ve already cleaned every glass and cup at least two times. He’ll never understand why their boss forces them to get there so early.

 

“It’s not Wednesdays’ fault, I don’t have a problem with Wednesdays, I have a problem with empty bars and silence,” Baekhyun explains. He’s always thought having something against a day of the week is ridiculous. He gets it, most people have to go back to work on Mondays but that’s not Mondays’ fault, why does it have to be universally hated?

 

“There’s music on,” Minseok shrugs. Baekhyun frowns, he knows Minseok’s just messing with him. Baekhyun hasn’t told him about Sehun, he hasn’t told anyone so he can’t possibly tell him that the music is not loud enough to keep him from thinking. 

 

“I can’t have a conversation with music,” Baekhyun says very seriously and it makes Minseok laugh. “What?” Baekhyun exclaims, offended.

“I’m sorry but I think you mean you can’t  _ flirt  _ with music,” Minseok tells him while still laughing.

 

“What are you talking about? I don’t flirt with everyone!” Baekhyun is very much offended by his friend’s accusations. 

 

“Only with like ninety percent of the customers,” Minseok says matter of factly.

 

“Exactly, not everybody.” Baekhyun crosses his arms and nods once.

 

“Anyhow, don’t worry, Jongdae just texted me saying he’s coming over.” 

 

“Bless his soul,” Baekhyun says with a smile. He likes Jongdae, he’s loud and fun and he can tell he cares about Minseok and makes him happy. He’s happy for them.

 

“He, um, he said Sehun and Junmyeon are coming too,” Minseok says slowly, without looking at Baekhyun. He doesn’t even know about what happened and he’s still wary about mentioning Sehun around Baekhyun.

 

“Oh, that’s cool.” Baekhyun has never been good at hiding his feelings but lately he’s been doing so good. He’s a bit scared it’ll all go to hell when he sees Sehun, but it’ll be fine, he can deal with it. He has to be able deal with it. 

 

A few minutes go by and there’s a knock on the door and a beep from Minseok’s phone. The older boy is back at the storage room, so Baekhyun checks his phone instead, and finds a text from Jongdae telling him they are at the door. Baekhyun takes a deep breath. He can deal with this. 

 

“You do know we don’t open for like another hour right?” he says as he opens the door. 

 

“I’ve always disliked the whole fashionably late business, I do fashionably extra early,” Jongdae tells him with the brightest smile as he walks in, followed by the flower shop owner Junmyeon, and Sehun. Baekhyun can deal with this, he can deal with the way Sehun looks. He can deal with his broad shoulders in that very tight shirt. He can deal with his now orange hair. He can deal with Sehun.

 

“You look like a tangerine,” Baekhyun comments and Jongdae and Junmyeon start laughing. 

 

“I told him just that!” Jongdae shouts. Baekhyun smiles at him. See, it’s not the flirting he likes, he just likes the loudness. 

 

Minseok shows up in that moment and Baekhyun gestures Sehun and Junmyeon to follow him to the bar. He pushes back his feelings, seeing Minseok and Jongdae being all cute while Sehun’s there it’s not the easiest thing. But he can deal with it. 

 

Baekhyun hands Sehun and Junmyeon their drinks. It’s funny how somehow they fall into a pace in which they can just talk about nothing. Baekhyun asks them about the flower shop. They ask him about the bar. Sehun tells them the orange hair was the result of a bet. After a while they shout to Jongdae and Minseok to join them or to get a room. They walk to the bar, reluctantly in Baekhyun’s opinion.

 

Baekhyun thinks he can do this. He can look at Sehun and not think about that mole in his neck he wants to kiss. He can look at his hair without feeling the urge to run his fingers through it. He can be just his friend. If that’s what Sehun wants. He’ll always love him, that much he knows, but he’s fine with just getting his friendship. He thinks he’ll be fine if he has Sehun in his life whichever way he chooses.

  
  


***

  
  


It quickly becomes a regular occurrence. Jongdae, Sehun and Junmyeon going to the bar before opening. Minseok and Jongdae often sneak out while Baekhyun bartenders for his two favorite clients. It’s fine, he likes it.

 

Baekhyun also likes it when Jongdae stays over and Sehun comes to pick him up to go to work together. He likes it because Sehun always goes by the house a little bit earlier and they have breakfast together. Or play some games. Sometimes Jongin, or Chanyeol, or both join them. Kyungsoo often makes them breakfast, claims he just likes practicing his human cooking. Baekhyun knows he wants Sehun to stay around. 

  
  


***

  
  


It’s a Wednesday. Baekhyun woke up early and he’s already dressed and waiting for Sehun. Jongdae always stays on Tuesdays and last night was no exception. He hears the knock on the door and opens up and finds that Sehun’s hair is black again. He misses the orange, he liked it. But he also likes the black. He briefly wonders if there’s a hair color that wouldn’t suit Sehun, and quickly decides that’s a ridiculous notion.

 

They sit down on the couch, each with their mugs. Sehun stirs, yawns. “Long night?” Baekhyun asks.

 

“I haven’t been sleeping very well lately,” Sehun explains with a shrug and takes a sip from his mug.

 

“Ah, is something keeping you up?” Baekhyun is curious and just the teensiest bit worried. Sehun doesn’t look his best.

 

“I just have a lot on my mind.” Sehun shrugs again and then yawns. Again. He rests his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder. The older boy runs his fingers through Sehun’s hair, as he makes content noises. Baekhyun has to catch Sehun’s mug when he loses his grip on it, and, after setting it on the coffee table, he starts to hum soothingly. 

 

A few minutes later Jongdae and Minseok show up, and Baekhyun brings a finger to his lips so they keep quiet.

 

“What is he doing here?” Jongdae asks in a whisper.

 

“Picking you up?” Baekhyun replies, confused as to why Jongdae is asking such an obvious thing.

 

“Junmyeon gave him the day off,” Jongdae explains. “He’s been very tired lately.”

 

Baekhyun looks at Sehun who’s now settled on his lap. He’s sleeping soundly. Baekhyun wonders how he didn’t notice just how exhausted he looked until that day. 

 

Jongdae tells him to let him sleep and Baekhyun nods and says goodbye. Minseok goes back to his room after Jongdae leaves, claiming he’s going back to bed for a bit.

 

An hour goes by and Baekhyun can’t feel his legs. He stirs, trying not to wake Sehun up but he fails. Sehun’s eyes open slowly, he rubs them and yawns. 

 

“Sorry,” Baekhyun tells him softly, running his hand through the boy’s hair. 

 

Sehun moves and from his position still laying down he hugs Baekhyun. He’s very clearly half asleep yet. When he speaks his voice is muffled because he’s talking into Baekhyun’s belly. “What time is it?” 

 

“Nine,” Baekhyun says. That seems to wake Sehun up.

 

“What? Where’s Jongdae?” he asks, sitting up. 

 

“He left an hour ago.” 

 

“Why didn’t he wake me up?” Sehun complains. 

 

“He said you had the day off,” Baekhyun tells him, not bothering to ask him why he’d kept that from him.

 

“I do,” Sehun says simply. He moves to settle on the couch next to Baekhyun, who looks at him, prodding him to explain himself. “I like coming here.”

 

Baekhyun smiles. “I like it when you come here, too.”

 

It happens in a flash. Baekhyun is certainly not expecting it. Sehun kisses him softly first, slowly. Then it gets rougher. He pushes Baekhyun to lay down on the couch and straddles him. 

 

“Shit, sorry.” Baekhyun and Sehun break apart when they hear Jongin’s voice and the door closing behind him. Baekhyun starts laughing.

 

“Sorry,” Sehun says.

 

“Are you seriously apologizing for kissing me?” Baekhyun asks, baffled. 

 

“I don’t even know,” Sehun admits and laughs. That laugh. Baekhyun can clearly see why his brain or his heart would refuse to let go of the loveliest sound in the universe. 

 

“You’re too sleepy, that must be it, you should go get some sleep.” Baekhyun comments, caressing Sehun’s cheek.

 

“Are you seriously kicking me out?” Sehun asks, his turn to be confused.

 

“No.” Baekhyun shakes his head and smirks. “I’m saying I have a perfectly good bed.”

  
  


***

 

It happened without them realizing. Like the first time. They fall in love again, while playing games and being friends. They had never truly fallen out of love but but it feels different now – new, exciting. Going on dates. Being extra touchy around Kyungsoo just to bother him. Learning about the little things again. They fit together like they’ve always have. Baekhyun resting his chin on Sehun’s shoulder. Sehun only noticing he’s clinging when he leaves and he feels empty.

  
  


***

 

Junmyeon permanently gives Sehun Wednesdays off. Sehun shows up early in the morning at Baekhyun’s house every week. They spend the day together. Wednesdays are Baekhyun’s favorite day now.  

 

They are lying in bed one Wednesday afternoon. Sehun claims he sleeps better on Baekhyun’s bed. Baekhyun sleeps better if Sehun’s there.

 

“It’s funny,” Sehun says, nuzzling Baekhyun’s neck to get his attention. Not that he needs to do that.

 

“What is?” Baekhyun asks, smiling softly. 

 

“You don’t bite me anymore,” Sehun tells him, breathing into his neck. Baekhyun almost chokes. 

 

“Well, it’s complicated now.” Baekhyun tries to keep his cool, but Sehun saying these things while he can feel his breath on his skin is not helping him.

 

“I thought you’d like it more.” Baekhyun thinks he’s hearing things but he can swear Sehun sounds disappointed.

 

“I wouldn’t know,” Baekhyun whimpers when Sehun moves away from his spot and looks at him with a frown.

 

“What do you mean?” Sehun asks, puzzled.

 

“I haven’t bitten anyone since I turned,” Baekhyun explains, calmly.

 

“Why?” Baekhyun wants to tell Sehun to stop doing that thing with his face. He wants him to stop giving him that puzzled look. It is very hard for him to focus if he’s looking at him like that, with that cute frown and his hair all messy.  

 

“It’s kind of an intimate thing,” Baekhyun tells him.

 

“Oh.” Sehun’s mouth forms a perfect circle and Baekhyun can’t help himself so he leans in a kisses him. “You can bite me,” Sehun says when they break apart. 

 

“What?” It’s Baekhyun’s turn to sound puzzled now.

 

“If you want to, I want you to bite me.” Sehun looks serious and Baekhyun doesn’t really know what to do. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it. 

 

“Are you sure?” he asks, and there’s a something he firmly believes are butterflies in his stomach.

 

“Yes, I kind of miss it,” Sehun smiles at him shyly and Baekhyun doesn’t need more convincing. He kisses his shoulder first and starts moving up, slowly, softly, until he reaches that one spot on Sehun’s neck. 

 

“Are you ready?” he whispers into his skin. Sehun just nods. Baekhyun bites into Sehun’s neck and a moan escapes the younger boy’s mouth. He wasn’t sure what to expect but Sehun’s blood tastes different. He can’t pinpoint what it is, just that it’s sweet and it makes him feel like he’s never felt before. He stops before he can go too far and licks the punctured wounds on Sehun’s neck. 

 

“Are you okay?” Baekhyun asks, breathless. 

 

“That was so hot.” Sehun replies, even more out of breath than Baekhyun. 

 

Baekhyun laughs and Sehun cuts him off with a kiss. 

 

Baekhyun thinks being a vampire has his pros. He also thinks, right there in Sehun’s arms, being kissed by him, he truly feels at home.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/pushmebuttons/)


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